1. Columbus’ trip to the Americas

2. A pre-history of the Native

Americans

3. The First Settlers

4. The Boston Tea Party

5. The American Revolution &

The Declaration of Independence

Outline

-- CC was born in 1451 in northwestern Italy

-- After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the path to Asia became

very difficult; the Europeans needed a new way to reach Asia and

the Indies in order to import spices, tea and other goods

-- Supported by the Spanish crown, CC went on his voyage,

however, he accidentally landed in the Americas

-- CC completed four round-trips between Spain and the Americas

Christopher Columbus heads to the Americas …

-- Although CC was not the first European to arrive in the Americas,

his trips were historical

-- These trips were the beginning of the European exploration and

colonization of the American continents

-- The Americas were called “The New World” and their discovery

allowed major powers in Europe to build trade and business

networks between the Old and the New Worlds

-- CC was later called “Admiral of the Ocean Sea” in 1492

HOWEVER …

-- Upon arrival to the Americas, the newcomers realized they were

not alone

-- The Americas were inhabited by the indigenous peoples of the

Americas- also known as the Native Americans, or Indians in North

America …

Christopher Columbus heads to the Americas …

The distribution of the Native American tribes

before the arrival of the Europeans …

-- CC and his crew were met with the Native Americans who were

inhabiting the continent

-- These Native Americans were considered to “beasts” and

“savages” and were enslaved by CC’s crew; they were treated with

violence and forced to convert to Christianity

-- In CC’s diary, he wrote: “They (Native Americans) should be

good servants … I, our Lord being pleased, will take hence, at the

time of my departure, six natives for your Highnesses”

Christopher Columbus and the Native Americans

…

-- At the time (16th – 17th Century), the Puritans were an activist group of English Protestants who rebelled against the Church of England because they felt it needed more improvements, because the church had moved away from its godly duties and became corrupt

-- Therefore, they were severely restricted in England by rules that tried to control their practice of their form of Christianity.

-- Some Puritans could not imagine living in England anymore; they wanted to separate from the the Church of England; these were called Separating Puritans; they headed to America for a new start & religious freedom

-- In 1620, 100 Puritans (English and Dutch) headed to the “New World” on board the Mayflower

These were the Pilgrim Fathers; lead by William Brewster

The Puritans …

-- On December 25th 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers arrived in New

Plymouth where they began to build their homes

-- Plymouth is a town in Massachusetts; it is known as America’s

Hometown

-- Bradford wrote that within a few months, half of the Pilgrim

Fathers had died from the harsh winter and diseases of the New

World

-- Bradford also claimed that a Native American, Squanto, helped

the Pilgrim Fathers survive the winter, and showed them how to

cultivate the crop; the seeds that the Pilgrim Fathers brought with

them were useless in this new environment

The Pilgrim Fathers …

-- The 13 colonies Joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America.

-- Rejected the authority of the Parliament of Great Britain to govern them from overseas without representation, and then expelled all royal officials.

-- Each colony had established a Provincial Congress, or some type of governmental institution, to govern itself, but still within the empire.

The 13 Colonies in North America

Boston tea party

-- This is where tea comes into play. The colonists

loved tea. Tea was a symbol of status and comfort.

-- What was the problem??

-- Tea from British suppliers was expensive. Most of

the colonies’ bought smuggled tea in order to avoid

the British taxes on this product.

-- The British did not like to be undermined and passed the

tea act.

-- The Tea Act gave the East India Company a monopoly on

the sale of tea.

*** the British thought that this would be good way of forcing

the colonists to pay the tea tax and still pay less money

overall for the tea.

How did the Tea Party get its name …

-- During the late 1760’s and early 1770’s the government of GB wanted to make sure that the thirteen colonies in America remained submissive and loyal to its rule.

--In order to achieve this power: they instigated a series of taxes that the inhabitants of the colonies were required to pay.

-- On December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor.

-- The incident remains an iconic event of American history, and other political protests often refer to it.

Boston Tea Party …

-- The Boston Tea party was a symbolic act that showed the British how far American colonists were willing to go to speak out for their freedom

-- This act made the British parliament furious and over the next two years tension would continue to rise until the Revolutionary war broke out.

-- In the American Revolution there were many who were willing to give their lives for the cause of American freedom.

-- The Boston Tea Party was one of the most powerful and significant forces that demanded independence of the American colonies from Great Britain

Message to the British Parliament …

Declaration of

Independence

-- During the 1700s, the British Parliament

passed several laws that limited of many

English colonists in America.

-- These limitations resulted in the forming of

the first Continental Congress in 1774.

-- A list of complaints was sent to King

George (III) but was ignored and after the

second meeting of the Continental Congress

and another ignored letter, the colonists felt

that they needed something to declare their

independence.

-- Rebellion was the only choice the

Colonists felt they had left

Declaration of Independence

-- In 1776, representatives from

each of the original 13 states voted

unanimously in the Second

Continental Congress to adopt a

Declaration of Independence.

-- This rejected the British

monarchy in addition to its

Parliament, and established

the sovereignty (rule) of the new

nation external to the British

Empire.

-- The Declaration established the

United States!

The Continental Congress (May, 1776)

Continental Congress

Appointing George Washington

Commander

-- More specifically, the Congress appointed this committee to draft the formal declaration of independence.

-1. Thomas Jefferson (was the third president of the USA)

2. Benjamin Franklin (one of the founding Fathers of the USA)

3. John Adams (the second president of the USA)

4. Robert Livingston (an American lawyer and politician)

5. Roger Sherman (an early American lawyer and politician)

This committee then chose Thomas Jefferson to write the first draft.

The Continental Congress (May, 1776)

-- A statement by the Continental

Congress announcing that the 13

American colonies considered

themselves independent states; no

longer a part of the British Empire

-- Thomas Jefferson composed the

original draft of the document with

John Adams and Benjamin

Franklin; the congress edited and

made the final version

-- John Hancock, President of the

Congress and Charles Thomson,

the Secretary, signed the document

Declaration of Independence (July 4th, 1776) …

-- The Declaration was approved at the second

Constitutional Congress. The Declaration of

Independence introduced a fundamental change in the

view of government.

-- The Declaration is why Congress declared

independence from Great Britain more than a year after

the outbreak of the American Revolution.

-- It allowed for the creation of the democratic

government.

Importance of the Declaration of Independence

…

-- The British responded by sending

combat troops to re-impose

direct rule.

-- Through the Second Continental

Congress, the Americans managed

the armed conflict against the

British known as the American

Revolutionary War

(also: American War of

Independence, 1775–83)

The American Revolution (1)

-- The British sent invasion armies and used their powerful

navy to blockade the Coast.

-- George Washington became the American commander,

working with Congress and the states to raise armies and

neutralize the influence of Loyalists.

The American Revolution (2)

-- Claiming the rule of George III of Great

Britain was tyrannical and therefore

illegitimate, Congress declared

independence as a new nation in July

1776, when Thomas Jefferson wrote and

the states unanimously ratified the United

States Declaration of Independence.

The American Revolution (3)

-- The Declaration plays a significant

role in our world today.

-- It is because of the words in that

document that women are now treated

the same as men and that all races are

treated equally, that people have certain

natural and legal rights, including the

right of revolution against suppression,

and religious freedom

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all

men are created equal, that they are endowed by

their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that

among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of

Happiness”

Importance of the Declaration of Independence

Today…

- http://books.google.com/books?id=trXE936uHLsC&pg

=PA55#v=onepage&q&f=false

- http://books.google.com/books?id=K4lEy7A8fnYC&pg

=PA146#v=onepage&q&f=false

- Charles W. Toth, Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite: The American

Revolution and the European Response.

- Alfred F. Young, The Shoemaker and the Tea Party:

Memory and the American Revolution

References (only some!)

Questions ? Don’t be shy !

Thank you for your attention!